Sylvanus cole



i STATES? PATENT OFFICE sYLvANUs OOLE, OF PAWTUOKET, RHODE ISLAND.

CLOTHES-DR'IER.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 4 8,910, dated July 25, 1865.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SYLVANUS COLE, of Pawtucket, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode'Island, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Clothes-Horses; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

The present invention relates more particularly to that class of clothes-horses in which aseries of vertical hangin g-frames are hinged to and revolve upon a common center post or standard; and it consists in a novel and peculiar manner of h in gin g the same thereto, whereby a substantial and durable clothes-horse is produced, and one which, in case of a breakage of any portion of the same, can be easily and readily repaired without necessarily requiring the detachment of all the parts com posing the horse from each other, as has heretofore been the case with those having a similar manner of operation.

In the accompanying plate of drawings, my improvement is illustrated, Figure 1 lbeing an upright View of one side of the same, showing it with its swinging frame closed upon each other and in a compact form 5 and Fig. 2, a horizontal section taken in the plane of the line a: x, Fig. l, but with the swinging frames open from each other and partially broken away.

a a in the drawings represent the center post or standard, made of any desired and suitable material, and ornamented at various points with a series of truncated conical-shaped pieces, b b b, and having a broad base or pedestal, c,- d d d, a series of clothes-frames, consisting of parallel horizontal cross-rods f f f, one over the other, and secured at one end to upright posts or pieces g g g by dovetailing, or in any other proper manner, and at the other to the common center post, a, before referred to, by means of a peculiar hin gejoint, which is about to be explained, the cross bars or rods ff be ing inserted within their posts in such relative positions as to enable the several frames, when closed one upon the other, to be brought into a compact shape, as represented in Fig. l.

'The hinge or joint by which each cross-bar of the swinging frame is hung and held upon the common center post is formed by using a narrow flexible band, h, made of leather or other suitable flexible materiah'which band passes partially around the post, and is secured at each end to and upon the inner end, l, of the cross-bar by means of tacks, rivets, or any other similar manner, atixed metallic collar-plate,m, being interposed between every two hinges of the arms directly above each other, by means of which the inner ends of the armsA are prevented from resting upon each other, and thus a much freer play of the same secured, and also under the lower one of every series, or any other suitable shoulder-pieceas, for instance, the truncated cones b b hereinbefore referred to. rIhese collar plates or ringscan be made of various forms, leither eircular or polygonal in theirperiphery,or of any desirable thickness and metal or material, it being only necessary that they should be of sufficient thickness to prevent the arms from bearing or resting upon each other, as before specified.

From the above description ofthe manner in which I secure or hinge the cross-rods ot' the swinging frames to and upon the common center post or standard, it is apparent that in case of the breakage of any portion or piece of the clothes-horse it can be easily repaired without requiring the complete dismemberment of the entire horse, as any one. swinging frame can be detached from the post without regard to the others, it being simply necessary to un-v fasten oneend ot the bands holding its several cross-rods to and upon the common center post, as is manifest withoutfurther explanation, the importance and advantage of which need no particular mention herein, being too self-evident to all persons.

I am aware that clothes-horses having a com mon center post or standard, upon which a series of swinging frames were hung or hinged so as to be freely turned about upon it have been hitherto used, but owing to the manner in which the frames were hinged they were not only extremely liable to be broken, but the horse could not be repaired in most cases without a complete dismemberment (or nearly so) of the same, the disadvantages of which are many; and, furthermore, the cross-bars at their hinged ends rested upon each other, which oftentimes made it quite difficult to swing or turn the frames; but with my improved clotheshorse, it is apparent from the above description,

rods of the swinging clothes-frames are hung upon their common center post or standard, of the intermediate collar-plates, m, made of metal or other suitable material, arranged together substantiellyes and for the purposes specified.

SYLVANUS COLE.

Witnesses:

NELSON CARPENTER, R. S. CHADSEY. 

